The Corner with Garry Chittick

I am not obligated to pen a Corner weekly, often it is difficult to identify a credible subject. This week, however, it is difficult to determine which topic to prioritise, such as spring racing.

The Te Rapa debacle would appear to be a logical starting point, however, there has been such a plethora of these non-events it is a subject that has been commented on many times – I, therefore, will keep it brief.

So frustrated was I that immediately after the cancellation I emailed the Racing Manager of NZ Thoroughbred Racing requesting confirmation of the number of cancellations in the past eighteen months, the number of races lost as some are rescheduled, more importantly, the amount of prize money owners have missed out on.

These are subjects I have addressed before, but I believe we are entitled to a detailed result. I am not pointing the finger at our jockeys; we all respect the pressure of riding at 65 kilometres an hour on a track that puts them at risk. However, something appears to be different.

I say appears as until I receive a response – that is, if I receive a response from NZ Racing, I don’t want to present a view that may be inaccurate. I will say, the racing people I am associated with are very disillusioned. I am not sure of the effect of a race day cancellation on our jockeys, but the race day costs owners more often than not having travelled; a disruption of the horse’s plans makes the Australian opportunities look increasingly attractive.

Then, to add insult to injury, what about the insane excuses we are expected to swallow from our administrators. Enough, if the information I have requested is forthcoming I will let you know.

Let’s enjoy some positivity.

The Cox Plate, any racing enthusiast must have revelled in the spectacle of Via Sistina demolishing a high-class field. The elegance of her galloping style, the rating of her performance at 2.5 lengths superior to the previous best, Winx.

Another of the great racing stories: purchased as a yearling for $10,000, scooped up by Yulong for a mere 2.7 million guineas. It does make you chuckle, where were all the judges at 5000 guineas – there you are, there is still opportunities for all.

We await VRC Carnival week, Saturday is the day where the upcoming crops are exposed. The irony is the Coolmore is labelled “the stallion-making race”, the Derby, a great race but no enthusiasm for future stud careers. One is 1200m the other 2500m. We, at Waikato, have not created our reputation over 1200m, on the other hand, there are regretfully very few VRC Derby winners successful at stud.

I think rather than overthinking the problem, we will stick to our mantra of just breeding the best racehorse we can and let the market determine what they want. After all, they all fought over Via Sistina.

Couple of footnotes: I didn’t attend the races at Ellerslie but have been advised by those who did the ‘take your own cut sandwiches’, draw your own conclusions.

Then, I read that the racing of horses should be banned. The opinion said the horses are compelled to have a bit of steel in the mouth, forced to wear steel shoes, compelled to carry, reluctantly, a human passenger, be subjected to a thrashing with a frenzied whip action then shot!

Fair dinkum, the world has been carried by horses for as long as recorded history.

The bit is supplemented by regular drenching avoiding a slow death of inevitable parasites – imagine the pain of abscess-ridden unattended feet? Of course the horse loves the grooming, feeding and attention of the person who will ride – the padded whip makes a similar noise to this complainant – the horse’s retirement will still benefit from common-sense care because it is loved. I doubt the complainant has a better life.

Enough for this week, enjoy the next great week of racing.
G